Zoe and Chance invited 130 of their friends and family members to join them in a celebration at the Olowalu Plantation House on the island of Maui. Celebrants traveled from as far away as the United Kingdom, New York and India to share in their love. A rehearsal dinner at Duke’s Beach House on North Beach in Ka‘anapali welcomed the out-of-town guests. “It was the perfect venue to gather with everyone before the wedding day and enjoy the amazing sunset together,” Zoe says. August 5, 2011 was a wondrous day to wed with postcard-worthy blue skies and a calm island breeze. Beyond the historical wooden plantation home, a path leads to an intimate clearing framed by palm trees overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Musician Brian Bitner, a friend of the couple, played the ukulele as guests took to their seats for the ceremony. Zoe was simply elegant in an ivory lace Alvina Valenta gown carrying a bouquet of white lisianthus, million stars baby’s breath, feverfew and dusty miller tied with burlap and twine. Escorted by her father, the bride walked down a yellow rose petal aisle accompanied by a guitarist playing her favorite Tom Waits song “I Want You”. Over the winter, Zoe and her best friend from London met for a shopping weekend in New York City to hand-select bridesmaids’ dresses in varying styles and patterns. “We kept a grey, yellow and blue color palette in mind and everyone’s personalities jumped out at us,” the bride says. Chance and his groomsmen opted for a classic island look, donning seersucker suits with suspenders, bow ties, vests and kukui nut lei.
Much of the décor for the day was rooted in the past from repurposed wooden vessels to ornate picture frames and flea market tin cans. Zoe and Chance put together an event that closely resembled their California home, punctuated with shabby chic accents and a whimsical mix of patterns and textures. “We’re really lucky in that we have the same taste in everything,” Zoe says. “I never actually pictured my wedding before I met Chance. Our ideas came together easily once we started planning.” Wedding designer Linda Santos of A White Orchid Wedding orchestrated the fine details of the day, bringing together Maui’s top wedding vendors. “The décor was established with a really vintage looking centerpiece,” Zoe says.
Talented florist Teresa Sena arranged light blue hydrangeas and lemon yellow daisies in farmer’s market tin cans for a plucked-straight-from-the-garden feel. Tables were dressed in crisp white and grey linens. The bride crafted the table numbers out of pretty scrap paper bearing paisley designs. Her sister created calligraphy escort signs that she strung from clothes pins along the veranda to add even more nostalgia. At each place setting, a yellow polka dot bag contained a card informing guests that the newlyweds had made a contribution to both the Creutzfeldt- Jakob Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in their name. “These two causes are near and dear to our hearts,” Zoe says.
After Zoe and Chance’s first dance as husband and wife, they invited some of the party-goers to join them on the dance floor. “We managed to arrange a medley of first dance songs in chronological order for every married couple in the place,” Zoe says. Family members shared touching speeches and live music performances over a candle-lit dinner. Everyone danced late into the night, as the cinematography team at Hawaii Video Memories captured the joyous emotions of the celebration. The morning after their wedding, the California couple happily left for a romantic honeymoon on Kauai’s south side, basking in the memories of their special day.
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